Fracking meeting: Change of venue sends rally organizers scrambling

Aug. 9, 2010

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BINGHAMTON -- Thursday's EPA's public meeting on hydraulic fracturing was set to be a marquee event in the country's debate over natural gas drilling, and it was set to happen in Binghamton.

Anti-drilling groups organized a rally featuring everyone from U.S. Reps. Maurice Hinchey and Michael Arcuri to actor Mark Ruffalo and a band called Sophistafunk.

Pro-drillers were flying and driving into Binghamton from across the Eastern Seaboard.

But when the venue changed Monday, just three days before the event, all were sent scrambling.

"For us to try and plan on something -- and then have it switch like this right within a couple days -- is going to have to be a little difficult," said Dan Fitzsimmons of Conklin, president of the Joint Landowners Coalition of New York, which is rallying in favor of gas drilling.

"It's really disappointing that the process would work this way," said Wes Gillingham, program director for the environmental group, Catskill Mountainkeeper, which is going to be a part of the anti-drilling rally that will now take place in Syracuse.

"Obviously, this is an issue that's important to people. That's why they (the EPA) decided to have three hearings instead of just one like they did in other parts of the country," Gillingham said. "And so at the last minute, to move it, makes no sense to me."

Thursday's meeting -- now slated for the Oncenter Exhibit Hall in Syracuse -- follows three others held this year in Fort Worth, Texas, Denver, and Canonsburg, Pa. There will be three, four-hour speaking sessions Thursday as opposed to just one session at the other events.

Sheila Cohen, the logistics coordinator for the coalition of anti-drilling groups putting on the rally, said they are still "in pretty good shape," although Syracuse is a less central location than Binghamton for many of those driving to participate.

Cohen said the rally was being reorganized as of Monday night. Although the rally location in Syracuse has not been settled upon and permits are still being sought, she said the rally probably will have to reduce its hours and its space because of the move from a suburban campus to an urban convention center.

"We'll probably have to limit the time the rally occurs. We don't know that yet," Cohen said.

Sierra Club Atlantic Chapter Conservation Associate Roger Downs, who had been negotiating with BU about where to place the rally, said the change of venue will have a negative impact on public discourse.

"I think the move to Syracuse reflects that too many people in the Southern Tier are engaged in the issue, and the EPA and BU did not feel they could safely accommodate a hearing there," Downs said. "We've invested an enormous amount of time -- lining up speakers, lining up bands, investing in buses to bring people in -- and that's all lost now."

On the other hand, gas industry spokesman Jim Smith said the move may clear space for public discourse by throwing a wrench in the plans of protesters.

"The change of venue might be a smart move, just to hopefully add a little bit of civility to it," said Smith, who represents the Independent Oil and Gas Association of New York. "It should not be an opportunity to scream and yell; it should be an opportunity to voice real concerns."

As troublesome as the sudden switch is for the pro-drillers, Fitzsimmons quipped that it would be more difficult for the anti-drilling camp.

"The other side must be really upset about this, because they've spent a lot of money and have a lot of people coming from all over," he said. "There are actors and everything, and they will have to switch everything around and make new reservations."